More than anything, I think that the biggest thing that People get out of popular culture, and especially fan culture, is a sense of hope. Creativity isn’t something that is limited to gods in ivory towers, looking down on the masses with contempt and disdain. Sure, that exists too, but it isn’t the end-all-be-all of creative endeavors, and there’s proof of surprise success even in what would normally seem to be this “mass culture”. So forget it. Forget all of that. You can be creative too, random internet-person. Let’s see what you’ve got.
What do you think?
I agree that the creative aspect of popular culture/fanculture is a HUGE motivation and force of good for humanity on a whole. I think that some other parts that are important to highlight are: 1.) Community 2.) Acknowledgement
ReplyDeleteThe community aspect is just humans being humans. Most people need other humans to survive. It is easiest to form communities around likenesses. I think that fan culture allows people to form more intimate communities because it is a likeness that is based on your interests.
2.)The acknowledgement part is that your personal love for something is recognized by other people. If you are creative, your work is apart of other people's experience of something they love and they actually enjoy talking to you about what you hold close to your heart.
It's like if your parents went to your concert and actively talked to you about what you did rather than just saying "It was good". Instead they'd be like, "I really liked the way the 1st violins crescendo-ed in the middle and then the viola take the melody". It shows that they're listening to something that you spent a shit ton of time on. NOT THAT I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE OR ANYTHING!
I agree with Iris that that this is a positive thing and that community is a big part of it. I would add that the community not only provides recognition and support but also an idea generator. The ideas that one person shares about a particular text can easily spark a million others of greatly varied ones, which is a healthy thing for a society to have.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's hope exactly (I'm not one to stand on that sort of thing) but it does give people power and meaning. Creativity, through whatever medium and by whatever means, is all about creation, whether you're writing a story, painting a scene, performing a play or even editing someone else's work. You are imagining something and bringing into life. Heady stuff. And whether it's acknowledged or not, it's definitely something that brings someone power. The Power of Life and Death, Decision, Grace or Punishment. The power of a god in their own micro universe.
ReplyDeleteMeaning is made from it all. Who you are, what you love, how you choose to engage in that thing; all of these say something about a person, gives out another piece of the larger puzzle of Who am I and What do I care about?
In closing, fandom is awesome.